Sunlogics PLC, a vertically integrated global solar energy systems provider specializing in solar project development and installation, recently announced that it has acquired privately-held Phoenix Solar Holdings Corp and its operating subsidiaries, including EPV Solar Germany GmbH and New Millennium Solar Equipment Corp. With the completion of this transaction, Sunlogics now has the ability to manufacture solar panels, using its proprietary technology, in Europe, Asia and North America. The transaction included investments by GLG Partners LP, Tenor Capital, Atlas Investment Fund and Catalyst Investment Management Co LLC. Exact financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but did include Sunlogics receiving a $6 million equity investment.

The acquisition includes the photovoltaic manufacturing facility located in Senftenberg, Brandenburg, Germany. The 55,000 square feet, 30 MW plant entered production in 2008. The Company is in the process of finalizing an existing government grant and once resolved will increase production, staffing levels and project development initiatives. The Company also intends to invest up to $6 million in additional, proprietary manufacturing technology over the next few years. Moreover, the Senftenberg location will serve as the base for projected expansion in Europe. The Company has announced plans to relocate the acquired U.S. panel manufacturing equipment, representing 20MW of production, from New Jersey to Detroit, Michigan and Ontario, Canada.

3rd ANNUAL CLEANTECH OPEN ANNOUNCES FINALISTS TO COMPETE FOR NATIONAL $250,000 PRIZE
From green building to smart grid technology, the 2011 class of semifinalists includes start-up companies from Washington and Oregon

(SEATTLE, WA) – The Pacific Northwest Cleantech Open – a chapter of the world’s largest business competition devoted to finding, funding and fostering successful cleantech businesses – today announced the three finalists to represent the Northwest at the national competition for a chance to win $250,000. The winning companies – Indow Windows, HM3 Energy and GridMobility – were selected from a class of 11 semifinalists which represent some of the most innovative, local start-up companies addressing the critical energy, environment and economic challenges we face today.

“From innovations in green building to energy efficiency, this year’s class of semifinalists exemplifies the high-quality and caliber of entrepreneurship growing in the Northwest,” said Byron McCann, Cleantech Open Regional Director for the Pacific Northwest. “This year’s winners will proudly represent our region at the national competition, and we wish them luck.”

The Pacific Northwest 2011 competition finalists are:

• Indow Windows – (Portland, OR) – builds thermal inserts that press on the inside of a window frame without any nails, screws or adhesives to deliver the performance of double pane windows, at a fraction of the price. With 43 percent of U.S. residences using single pane windows, Indow Window delivers a cost-effective, energy-saving alternative. To learn more: http://www.indowwindows.com.

• HM3 Energy – (Troutdale, OR) – uses proprietary technology to convert biomass into clean fuel to replace coal in coal-fired power plants. Existing power plants can co-fire biomass with coal, or directly use torrefied biomass in place of coal, without any plant modifications and at nearly the cost. To learn more: http://www.hm3e.com.

• GridMobility – (Redmond, WA) – is a smart grid company that enables utilities, power balancing authorities, commercial and residential power customers to significantly increase their consumption of renewable energy and reduce energy costs. Using proprietary technology, GridMobility allows customers to choose their electricity sources and actively manage power consumption. To learn more: http://www.gridmobility.com.

“The Cleantech Open provides access to mentorship, business and financial expertise to help start-ups transform bright, new ideas into successful, profitable companies,” McCann added. “The Northwest has long been an incubator for innovation and there’s an opportunity to add to that legacy by building a strong, regional clean technology industry.”

In just three years, the all-volunteer organization can already point to measurable successes in the Northwest. Last year’s regional finalist, Puralytics, an Oregon-based company pioneering photochemical water purification, won the national championship for the tremendous environmental and social impact of their technology.

The three Pacific Northwest winners will compete with finalists from six other Cleantech Open regions on November 16 at the national awards ceremony in San Jose, CA.

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Cleantech Open Sponsors
The Cleantech Open is made possible by the generous support provided by Global Partner: Chevron; National Sponsors: Autodesk and University of Phoenix; Multi-Regional Sponsors: Wells Fargo and Deloitte. Event sponsors include: Puget Sound Energy, Avista, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati, Lane Powell, Silicon Valley Bank, Stoel Rives, Dorsey & Whitney, and Portland General Electric. Mentor support provided by Aeon Law.

About the Cleantech Open
The Cleantech Open is the world’s largest cleantech business competition. Its mission is to find, fund and foster entrepreneurs with big ideas that address today’s most urgent energy, environmental and economic challenges. The program provides the infrastructure, expertise and strategic relationships to turn clever ideas into successful global cleantech companies. Since 2006, through its one-of-a-kind annual business competition and mentorship program, the Cleantech Open has enabled hundreds of clean technology startups to bring their breakthrough ideas to fruition, helped alumni contestants raise over $280M, and created an estimated 1,200 green collar jobs. Fueled by a network of more than 700 volunteers and sponsors, the Cleantech Open unites the public and private sectors in a shared vision for making America’s cleantech sector a thriving economic engine.

Venture capital backed Silver Spring Networks filed on July 7th to go public. Kleiner Perkins and Foundation Capital are among the leading investors. The tech IPO trend has been picking up after an extended drought. And, Silver Spring needs to pick up needed capital to expand its business while the financing window is open. We are looking forward to more clean tech IPO’s to propel more liquidity in this critical sector.

MIT Enterprise Forum: Meet the Angels Panel – March 8, 2011
Angel investing is a passion among private investors. According to Byron B. McCann, Co-chair of the NW Energy Angels, angels want their entrepreneurs to succeed so they will succeed as well. One key point in the collaboration between investor and entrepreneur is the need to communicate, especially after the investment has been made. Entrepreneurs will most likely need investor support down the line and this support will be forthcoming if the entrepreneur has not stopped selling the company to the investor right after closing the round. Rather, being transparent after the investment is important so the investor will not be surprised. This generates trust. Trust equals support. Support most often means more money. So, entrepreneurs, keep selling is a daily mindset to investors and everyone, even your spouse.

Puralytics, the innovative water purification company from Oregon, won the national Cleantech Open award in a field of many excellent, emerging cleantech companies. www.puralytics.com

I had the pleasure of announcing Puralytics win as the Northwest Regional Cleantech Open finalist at the awards gala and moments later, we learned that it won the entire national prize. Seeing Mark Owen and his team win and receive the award was particularly gratifying as I’ve been keen on seeing a Northwest company win since my role as NW Regional Director was to encourage entrepreneurs to enter, compete, improve their businesses and win in more than one way!

Mark Owen, CEO, is the kind of entrepreneur who one can work with to build a successful company. They are gaining great commercial traction and philanthropic groups realize that their water purification technology can solve many disaster water needs as well as in less advantaged areas.

We did a celebration on December 2nd in Portland and will do one on December 9th in Seattle with the Cleantech Open NW regional group. Feel free to email me for information: byron@ascentpartnersgroup.com

China will indroduce a measure to cut taxes for renewable energy companies and implement price incentives for renewable power, Xie Zhenhua, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, told reporters in Beijing today, according to Bloomberg News. This is consistent with their economic policy to be the global leader in clean technologies. Perhaps the political debate in the U.S. over how to address the future of this important industry sector can be resolved in light of a global competitiveness issue.

Brammo continues to forge ahead with products (Empulse), manufacturing (Flextronics), funding (Series B), and distribution. The team in Ashland, OR is busy executing indeed!

(Following from One Racing Source) “Brammo filed the appropriate forms with the SEC yesterday stating that it has raised $ 12.4 million in Series B funds, in what is still an open round of financing. Brammo hopes to raise a total of $ 30 million in the Series B offering, with the use of funds likely going towards expanding Brammo’s reach into the Asian and European markets, as well as building out the company’s product line into other target segments.

Also in the Form D filing with the SEC we get a glimpse of the people behind the company’s management, which includes a presence from Brammo’s initial investors Best Buy & the clean-tech venture capital group Chrysalix, as well as Brammo’s CFO Bruce Gilpin. New to the ranks is David Kurtz from Alpine Inc., an oil and gas exploration and development firm that is leading the Series B round with another firm that is so far unknown.

It says something about the state of electric vehicles when oil companies start investing in them, so it doesn’t surprise us to learn that most of the remaining $ 17.5 million in the Series B round has already been committed, and could close in the new year. Brammo’s ability to raise this much capital is a good sign for EV fans and other EV companies alike. Despite tight coffers, venture capitalists and private equity funds are still investing in electrics, especially electric motorcycles.

Brammo joins the ranks of Zero Motorcycles and Mission Motors, both of whom have had to also file similar paperwork with the SEC, meeting threshold point in fundraising where they needed to disclose private offerings of stock. Yesterday’s filing has been the largest collection of capital so far in this space, with Brammo’s $ 12.4 million dwarfing the $ 7.3 million that Zero raised earlier in the year (here & here). To-date Brammo has raised $ 23 million ($ 41 million when this round is closed), with its $ 11 million Series A round taking place in August 2008.

The use of the funds according to CEO Craig Bramscher will go towards Brammo’s global expansion, product development, and day-to-day business. Coming on the heels of its announced partnership with Flextronics, the cash infusion puts Brammo as the first-mover into foreign markets in the electric motorcycle space. “It allows us to leverage our guerilla market tactics across the globe,” Bramscher said of the new funds.

Brammo’s coffers may be larger than what they were before, but few companies would consider anything under $ 100 million adequate funding for a global expansion. “The comparison with Tesla keeps coming up in the conversation,” says Bramscher. “We like that, but we’re trying to achieve the same goals with a lot less.” Being efficient with funds is critical in this market to woo investors, which Brammo says is one of the things that’s helped them bring in the dealflow.

Bramscher hopes one day to take Brammo public, taking a cue from Tesla’s recent IPO, but that stop on the Brammo roadmap is still farther down the road, and right now the company is focusing on this investment. “Our hope is that this gets us to black ink, that this gets us global expansion, and gets us marketing,” explained Bramscher. “We’re trying to find the right investors that really do bring the right kind of value to the company. So far, everybody adds value beyond just the money they’ve invested.”

For consumers, expect new Brammo-clad products to be announced. While we already know that the Brammo Empulse will make its production debut next year, other models are likely to come from the Ashland-based company. “With the better drivetrain and longer range, we’re able to go into other segments,” hinted Bramscher. “We’re looking at anything with volume.”

With volume being the key word, Brammo is very close to having its Asian market headquarters in China picked out, while the company is still looking for a location for its brick and mortar presence in Europe.”

On October 4, 2010, from 4:30 to 7:30 PM, the second regional awards event for the Cleantech Open will be held at the Bell Harbor International Conference center in Seattle. This year’s group of diverse cleantech companies from around the Northwest offer a variety of products, technologies, and solutions which include biofuels, vehicles, water purification, wind and water power, and web solutions for reducing traffic. In addition, last year’s semi-finalists will be exhibiting. Come participate, network, see these companies, and find out who the three regional finalist will be who go to the national finals on November 17 in San Jose, CA. Go to Cleantech Open to register.

At the Zino Zillionaire angel panel on September 15, 2010, Byron McCann, Managing Partner, of Ascent Partners Group, offered a way to look at and filter potential angel investments using a mnemonic he calls “TORQUE”. There has to be a balance in an emerging venture across capabilities. Only technology and not enough product could be a critical imbalance. “When you torque a nut on a bolt, you have to have the right amount of torque – not enough, it will come loose and fail to do its job, and too much, it will strip the threads and become useless entirely,” said McCann. “A venture needs a good balance of many factors and TORQUE is one easy way to begin looking at it from both the entrepreneur’s and investor’s points of view.

TRACTION – Do potential customers really want the specific value proposition the venture is offering? How’s that validated?OPPORTUNITY – Is this a big enough and interesting enough market to make worthwhile all the effort to build the venture?RELATIONSHIP – Is this a group of entrepreneurs you want to work with over the life of the investment? Is there trust? Will you be able to collaborate and have open communication?QUALITY – Do the entrepreneurs focus on doing the right things the right way? Do they have a quality mindset? Will they do a process or task well or just be expedient?UNIQUE – Is this unique enough to be differentiated in the market, solve the problem well, and defend against competition? Is there solid intellectual property?EXECUTION – Can the team focus and operate the business with intensity and excellence to help customers and build value?

While there are many other considerations to employ in evaluating an emerging venture, this is a good start to filter down the ones worth spending time investigating further. Angel investing and emerging ventures are exciting and have the chance to make a worthy impact for many. Focusing on the right ones is a key step in this invigorating but often challenging process. Good luck!